Where does all our money go?
Do you ever ask yourself this? It’s amazing how quickly trips to Costco and Starbucks can add up. Not to mention, of course, those pesky bills and something we call mortgage/rent.
One evening my husband and I were going through our monthly budget/spending and something stood out to me. We were spending about $185 on TV…A MONTH! As a working parent of two kids I feel like I don’t often watch TV. So why were we spending so much on it? Would I even notice if I didn’t get ALL the channels? I was willing to find out.
So we we took the leap and cut cable! No, I am not all of a sudden a no-TV household. We still have one television and an ipad, but we did significantly slash our spending each month on television entertainment. We (well, ok my husband did all the research and work on this) found several solutions to satisfy our TV-watching needs and I am hoping there’s something that might work for you as well!
Hardware Investments that worked for us:
- AppleTV – gives access to Netflix, Hulu, Sports Packages (optional) and we can stream our home movies from our iPhones to our TV. We spent $99 (they are now $65!)
- Mohu Leaf – an antenna that lets us view all local channels in beautiful high def. $39
Other hardware options:
Our Subscriptions:
- Netflix – great kids programming, great streaming movies, excellent original content and best of all, no advertisements. $9/month.
- Hulu – in case you miss something on network tv, it’s all here. $9/month
- HBONow (currently available only on AppleTV) – Access to current shows like Game of Thrones, VEEP and Silicon Valley. Also access to the entire HBO library for shows like Sex & The City, Big Love and Sopranos. $15/month
Another Option:
- SlingTV – Not completely ready to go “cold turkey”? Access to ESPN, AMC, Food Network, A&E, HGTV, CNN, ABC Family and more. They’re offering a free 7-day trial plus a free Amazon FireTV stick. $20/month.
As it turns out, I honestly don’t even notice that I am not getting all the channels I used to. Think about it, is what you’re watching really worth what you’re paying for it? I found that the shows I have how completely satisfy my TV-watching needs. And I don’t hate the cost:
We went from $185 per month to
Drumroll please….
$31/month! A savings of over $1,800 per year! Imagine all the trips to Costco that could cover!
This is crazy to me that we were spending so much each month and were able to so greatly reduce it without even missing it.
Are you a no-tv household? Have you recently cut cable and have some tips to share? What worked for you? We would love to hear from you!
